Automatic taper-cut hair clippers



P. E. DU CHARME 3,264,735

AUTOMATIC TAPER-CUT HAIR CLIPPERS Aug. 9, 1966 Filed May 28 1965 2 Sheets-$heet l I8 I o I I I a, l a 62a. 5 I i :20 l i INVENTOR.

Paul LDuCharrne.

Aug. 9, 1966 P. E. DU CHARME 3,264,735

AUTOMATIC PAPER-CUT HAIR CLIPPERS Filed May 28, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Pad B'DuChaYme.

United States Patent M 3,264,735 AUTOMATIC TAPER-CUT HAIR CLIPPERS Paul E. Du Charme, 141 Springcrest Drive, Akron, Ohio Filed May 28, 1963, Ser. No. 283,767 Claims. (Cl. 30-202) This invention relates to improvements in. electric hair clippers, and a principal object is to provide a scalp engaging comb attachment combined with a driving mechanism which may be installed on commercial hair clippers with a minimum of structural change therein, and when installed with make it possible to taper-cut or shingle or butch-cut a persons hair with very little skill required on the part of the person cutting the hair.

Another object is to provide an attachment of the character indicated which is readily mounted in adjustable positions on its reciprocating driving mechanism, and is easily dismounted, whereupon the commercial clippers may be used in the usual manner.

' Another object is to provide a scalp-engaging comb (as part of an attachment for commercial electric hair clippers) which will be moved relative to the clipper blade assembly by the power of the electric motor, so that throughout the complete cycle of movement, from the retracted position to the extended position, the teeth of the comb will extend forwardly of the cutting teeth of the clipper blades and therefore will be in position to pick up the hair in front of the clipper blades and guide the hair in an upright position into the cutting teeth as the clippers are moved over the scalp.

Another object is to provide ascalp-en-gaging comb attachment which when installed on electric clippers will be moved relative to the clipper blade assembly of such clippers continuously through reciprocating cycles of onehalf inch, and which can be adjusted to give anywhere between a zero inch cut and a one-half inch cut at the start of each cycle, without reducing the normal over-all one-half inch cycle movement or altering the time of the cycle, thereby permitting the operator to taper upwards from sideburns that have been cut at various lengths, also permitting the operator toautomatically contour the'hair on top of the head into the well known butch" cuts, such as the flat top. I

- A further objectis to providean attachment of the character described which requires no substantial change in the cutting habitsthe techniqueof the operator.

Another object is to provide a scalp-engaging comb attachment of the character previously mentioned which may be disengaged from the motor of the clippers at any point in its cycle of movement and when disengaged will remain in a fixed position, thereby permitting constant-length cuts up to one-half inch, or even up to one inch by making a further adjustment in the position of the comb.

Due to the continual rise in the price of haircuts, the parents of many children have purchased hair clippers and have attempted to cut their childrens hair, often with sad results. The automatic taper-cut clippers of my invention make it possible for a parent, after very-little practice, to do a good job in cutting his childs hair.

I am aware that :a number of patents have been issued on hair clippers which attempt to solve the same problem. Among these patents are the Klitthoift Patent 'No. 2,707,- 328 and the Maloy Patent No. 2,726,447; see also the Hagenbeuker Patent No. 2,103,418. However, as I am prepared to demonstrate, these patented constructions do not have the capabilities of clippers equipped with my improvements. Generaly speaking, the clippers of these patents require radically different operating techniques and are completely new types, unlike commercial clippers now sold in the United States.

In the accompanying drawings showing practicable forms of my invention,

3,284,735 Patented August 9, 1966 FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an Oster Universal clipper, model 12, with the upper half of the clipper body removed and the comb of my invention removed, showing part of the mechanism for operating said comb;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same clipper shown with the attachment of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a detail section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the comb in the clipper body and also showing some co-operating parts in dotted lines;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of the clippers with the comb in place;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the comb, the clipper blade and the operating button on the clipper body;

FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 6 but showing a different form of comb particularly for butch cuts; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the inner face of the clipper blade assembly.

Before describing the drawings in detail, it should be stated that only so much of the commercial Oster clipper is shown as will enable those skilled in the art to comprehend the invention and install the attachment on such a clipper. It will be further understood that the Oster clipper is selected as a representative commercial construction and that the invention may be used with other clippers on the market.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the lower half of the hand-held plastic casing 20 is shown full size, with the motor 21 and fan 22 for Ventilating the casing or body. Wires (not shown) are connected to the field windings of the motor and to brushes 23, 24 which contact the commutator 25;

these wires being energized by current conducted by the usual electric cord (not shown) which carries a plug at the other end adapted to be inserted in a wall or other fixture. A slidable motor switch, moved by the operators thumb, is also provided on casing 20 but is not shown.

In addition to ventilating fan 22, the motor 21 drives a worm 26, FIG. 2, extending from the forward end of the motorshaft. This worm drives a worm gear (immediately back of worm 26 but not shown). On top of said worm gear and secured thereto is an eccentric 27 which is slowly rotated with the worm gear. Eccentric 27 is within the slot of a slotted link 28 which rocks on pivot 29, the forward end 30 of the link 28 being engaged with the movable member of the clipper blade '31, the inner face of which is shown in FIG. 8. Link end 30 engages in the recess 32* illustrated in FIG. 8. This clipper blade assembly is made according to Patent No. 1,888,688 dated November 22, 1932. It is secured to the body or casing 20 by a single screw (not shown) entering a tapped bore in the forward end of the casing.

The comb assembly 1, presently to be described, is slidably mounted on the casing 20, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, so as to move in and out relative to the casing and the clipper blade assembly. The total movement permitted is preferably one-half an inch, but it would be possible to build the attachment so that it will reciprocate up to one inch. Comb assembly 1 is of plastic material and is secured by screw 16 to and is removable from a sled 2. The comb assembly 1 is secured in zero position in FIG. 2. It can be secured anywhere up to one-fourth of an inch lower on the sled 2 to give various length cuts up to' onefourth of an inch at the start of the reciprocating cycle. The sled 2 is a flat slide having grooves 2 on opposite sides engaging the spaced straight edges of the casing 20. These engaging members may be of metal, if desired, to give a long life to the parts. The sled moves in a straight path, which is at an angle of about 63 relative to the plane of the clipper blade assembly 31, as FIG. 2 indicates.

The comb-reciprocating elements will now be described.

' housing 3 and a reversible =worm 4, that is, a worm with right and left hand threads, extends throughsaid housing.- One end of the worm shaft isjournaled in a bearing 5 in the clipper casing while the other end supports a bevel gear 6. Another bevel gear 7, of the same pitch diameter, meshes with gear 6, gear 7 being fixed to a short shaft 7 whose upper end is journaled in a spur 8 which is integral with the casing 20. Fixed to the underside of gear 7 is a spur gear "17. Another spur gear 9 drives gear 17 when meshed therewith. Gear 9 is on the upper end ofa short shaft 10'whioh is square in cross section andfits in a square socket provided in a hollow shaft 12, a coil spring 11 being in the bottom of the socket and pressing against the lower end of shaft 10. A push-and-lock button type. unit is used to control the position of gear 9. When the button on the outer end of unit 15 is pushed in, gear 9 will be disengaged from gear 17, and the comb can not be operated by power from the motor. A known type of lock (not shown) will hold the unit 15 in depressed position. Secured to shaft 12 is a spur gear 13 which meshes with and is driven by a gear 1 4 that is fixed to a shaft 32 which mounts the eccentric 27. (SeeFIG. '1. It has previously been explained how power from the motor drives the eccentric to effect operation of the clipper blade.)

The gear 7 has an rpm. of 60. The reversible worm- 4 preferably has a one-half inch travel, and at. 60 r.p.m.,

the reversible worm will move worm housing 3 (and hence sled 2 and comb :1) through one .cycle every six seconds. Comb 1 is in zero position in FIG. 2 and will move preferably one-half inch out and back in six seconds. Of course, longer periods for the cycle of-movement maybe obtained by a different selectionof gears. The operation: 7

is believed to be obvious from the foregoing description. FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of clippers hav ing a special comb attachment 19' that is' designed for butc type haircuts. The base of the comb attachment 1-9 rides partially under the base of the clipper blade" as.-- sembly to provide a greater scalp-engaging surface than comb attachment 1, which is desirable when giving this type of haircut. Attachment 19 maybe made adjustable for any constant cutting length from one-fourth to threefourths of an inch or may be operated with the comb-- reciprocating elements engaged to design many; of the popular type butch cuts.

An extremely important feature of the invention is the position of the comb attachment (1 or 19) relative to the clipper blade assembly; Note thatin the retracted position, both comb attachments are immediately in advance of the cutter and lie in the same plane. Thus the: operator holdsthevmodified clipper at the same angle in whichit would be held were there no modification, and he does;

not need to learn a new operating technique, except to co-ordinate the upand down movement of the clipper with the out-and-in movement of the comb. With a little practice the user may shingle or taper-cut the hair on the back and sides of the head, and accomplish this almost perfectly. Also, as stated, unusual styles of hair-cuts are easily given.

Having described one form of the invention, and a slight modification, I wish it to be understood there are other mechanisms adaptable to other commercial clippers that may be employed to accomplish the same result; and all such mechanisms are considered to be a part of my invention if within the scope ofthe appended claims.

In my copending application Serial No. 375,500, filed June 16, 1964, I have described and claimed further improvements in reciprocating comb attachments for hair clippers.

What I claim is:

:1. In a hair clipper having a body, an electric motor within the body, fixed andreciprocating blades supported,

on the body at the forward end thereof and disposed at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of said body, and

an operator-controlledmechanism driven by the motorfor reciprocating the reciprocable blades; the: combination therewith of a scalp-engaging comb attachment slidably mountedoutside the. body on the upper-side thereof'adjacent said blades and-being slidable at an acute angle to the general plane of said blades-, saidcorn-b attachment having comb teeth projecting in the general .plane of the blades, or :in planes parallel. to said general plane, but projectingforwardly 'or in advance of the extremities of said blades so that the comb teeth encounter hairs on ascalp before the hairs can be-cut by said blades; an attachment mechanism within said body for connecting .the

comb attachmentwith the .motor-driven mechanism of.

the clipper; and an operator-controlled clutch for connect ing the attachment imechanism with the motor-driven mechanism,;so that the comb attachment at the will of.

the operator, is slowly. reciprocated by motor power.

2. E The invention defined in claim 1, wherein the combattachment, when retracted, projects ahead of or above the blade points and has its teeth provided with flat scalp.-

engaging surfaces, said surfaces lying in one plane; the

comb attachment when extended being at least, one-half inch beyond :the general planeyof the blades.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein the comb attachment has a base that is spaced fromfrhe blades on the --outsideand extends -well below the points of the blades to provide an enlarged scalp-engaging surface to aid the operator in giving .butch type haircuts.

tachment being recip'rocable in .said guides; in a plane which lies at an acute angle to the general plane of said -blades;-a comb-operating mechanism mounted inside: the. clipper body; an operator-controlled clutch means o en able from; outside. they clipper body, said clutch;means' permittingthe operator ,to connect and disconnect. said i operating mechanism from .-the .bladeI-operating mecha-v nism of the hair clipper; said comb attachment, operating mechanism .and clutch means all being readilymounted 1 on the hair clipper without changing the mechanism of they hair clipper, and said .comb'attachment being readily. dis-1 mounted from the :clipper. body and when dismounted, leaving the clipper-in precisely the same operating condition which it had prior to; the mounting of said attachmenton theclipper.

5. In a hair clipper having abod-y, an electric motor within the body,"fixed and reciprocable blades supported on thebody at the forward end thereof and disposed at an acute angle. to the longitudinal: axis of said body, and an operator-controlled,mechanism driven by said motor for. reciprocatingthe; -reciprocable blades; the combination therewith of a scalp-engaging comb attachment: slidably mounted outside the body on the upper side thereof adjacent said blades and being slidable at anacute angle to the general plane of said blades, said comb attachment having comb teeth projectingin the general plane of the blades, or in planes parallel to said general plane, but

projecting forwardly or in advance of the extremities of said blades so that the comb teethencounter'hairs-on a scalp, and the scalp itselfy before the hairs can be cut the comb attachment, at the will of the operator, is slow- 1y reciprocated by the power of the motor on the upper side of the clipper body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,753,750 4/1930 McArdle et al 30-201 1,795,836 3/1931 Cordova 30202 1,888,688 11/ 19 32 Oster 30-221 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner.

I. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A HAIR CLIPPER HAVING A BODY, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR WITHIN THE BODY, FIXED AND RECIPROCATING BLADES SUPPORTED ON THE BODY AT THE FORWARD END THEREOF AND DISPOSED AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BODY, AND AN OPERATOR-CONTROLLED MECHANISM DRIVEN BY THE MOTOR FOR RECIPROCATING THE RECIPROCABLE BLADES; THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A SCALP-ENGAGING COMB ATTACHMENT SLIDABLY MOUNTED OUTSIDE THE BODY ON THE UPPER SIDE THEREOF ADJACENT SAID BLADES AND BEING SLIDABLE AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE GENERAL PLANE OF SAID BLADES, SAID COMB ATTACHMENT HAVING COMB TEETH PROJECTING IN THE GENERAL PLANE OF THE BLADES, OR IN PLANES PARALLEL TO SAID GENERAL PLANE, BUT PROJECTING FORWARDLY OR IN ADVANCE OF THE EXTREMITIES OF SAID BLADES SO THAT THE COMB TEETH ENCOUNTER HAIRS ON A SCALP BEFORE THE HAIRS CAN BE CUT BY SAID BLADES; AN ATTACHMENT MECHANISM WITHIN SAID BODY FOR CONNECTING THE COMB ATTACHMENT WITH THE MOTOR-DRIVEN MECHANISM OF THE CLIPPER; AND AN OPERATOR-CONTROLLED CLUTCH FOR CONNECTING THE ATTACHMENT MECHANISM WITH THE MOTOR-DRIVEN MECHANISM, SO THAT THE COMB ATTACHMENT AT THE WILL OF THE OPERATOR, IS SLOWLY RECIPROCATED BY MOTOR POWER. 